Working in Inkopolis
by kymchee
Summary: After being saved by the Squid Sisters, they let him stay in Inkopolis. How bad can things be?
1. Chapter 1

**Note: This takes place in 2018, but there are no humans, only Octolings, Inklings, Shrimp, Jellyfish, etc.. For the sake of my sanity and ease of writing, countries and continents are the same (i.e. Inkopolis is located in Japan) to help differ characters and make them something other than a sea-based species alone. Things such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and any other social media platform will still be in use, but SplatNet will be the main one used along with the aforementioned YouTube. But anyways, onto the story.**

* * *

Hey! Name's Jack! I've been in Inkopolis for over six years now. Guess I should explain how I ended up here. Okay, so it all started when Agents One and Two came to Octo Valley to fight the Octarians who were trying to overtake Inkopolis. The two agents happened to stumble across me while on a mission. After trying to kill me for the better part of a half-hour, I ended up being brought back with them. Crazy how things turn out, huh? Now I live in Inkopolis with the rest of the Inklings. Sure the Inklings happen to hate Octarians, but I manage. And there are two special Inklings who don't hate me, Agents One and Two, who happen to be super-ultra-mega pop-stars, Callie and Marie. But I guess I'm not pure-Octarian, as my mother was an Inkling, so I'm a rare (by that I mean insanely rare) hybrid of both. The other agents may or may not have freaked when I told them. It has benefits, as I get to turn into a black ink octopus about the size of most squids, which is amazing for sneaking at night or on dark concrete. I also get to have two more tentacles on my head, though some may argue that makes me stick out from other Inklings (which is super fucking cool). But I do get a really cool mixture of both races. I mean, I don't really fit on teams for turf wars as no other Inkling has black ink, but I somehow make it work.

Anyways, enough about me. I sat on a couch inside the Squid Sisters' headquarters. The duo were off doing their big concert scheduled for tonight, which happened to be live from Town Centre. And while it is exclusive to the lucky ones who bought tickets to a semi-secret house show, I get to chill in HQ with nobody in the building. I'm not saying that there was anything to do, but it was cool. Although it was insanely quiet and lonely, I found a way to just chill out. There were some Inklings who stood outside holding signs directed towards the Sisters. They said that an Octarian (me) should not be allowed in Inkopolis, whether the reason was anti-Octarian or not. Callie had always been looking at the positive side of having me in the city, mainly that they were expressing that Inklings should accept Octarians and vice-versa. And while I agreed thoroughly with her point, there is no reason for her and her cousin's fans should attack me for having the extra two tentacles that I was born with. The concert wasn't over for another hour, and then the commute would be complete and utter shit, so I have another hour or two alone in the HQ, I let out a sigh as the protesters got louder and louder as more and more Inklings join the rally. After sitting for another hour, the duo weren't back. I decided to go out into the city. The angry outcries from protesters continued to increase in volume as I snuck out of the back of the building. Now what to do? I could always go to Crusty Sean's, but he might have an influx of customers tonight. Why he would is beyond me, but that's besides the point. How about a turf war? Why the fuck not? Got nothing better to do. As I was on my way to the arena, I bumped into someone. "Oh, sorry!" I quickly spat out. I turned around to make sure the Inkling I ran into was fine. "Are you okay?" I asked. "Yeah," They replied as they brushed their shirt. "Just watch where you're going next time, okay." The voice was feminine. I started to make out the details of the Inkling. She had blue tentacles with brown eyes. That was what I was comfortable with making out at least. "Uh... hey. You wanna go do a turf war or something?" I asked in a likely futile attempt to meet another Inkling that wasn't Callie or Marie. "Sure. I mean, not like there's anything else to do right now anyways." She answered. I was happy that someone finally talked to me. I was hoping that she didn't notice the two extra tentacles on my head, or that she at least didn't freak out.

As the two of us walked down to the arena, someone (who clearly knew I was Octarian) called out that "Octarians should not be in Inkopolis," and threw a can at me. I looked to my right. The girl who I had been walking with stood in shock. When she finally decided to talk, it was more passive than aggressive. "So you're an Octarian?" She asked nervously. "Yeah," I said as I rubbed the back of my neck. "Sorry for not telling you." I felt like an idiot for thinking she wouldn't notice, especially since we were going into a well-lit battle arena. I knew that there was no way to react without being angry. "I understand if you're mad and wanna hit me or something." I sort of prepared myself to be hit, but I wasn't hit at all. So she left. Only other option. "It's fine that you're here, dude." She said. I opened my eyes and relaxed, albeit confused. "It is? Usually Inklings aren't so accepting of my kind here. " I responded. "What? Do you assume that all Inklings are anti-Octarian?" She asked. "Well, yeah. Kinda," I replied. "Every Inkling I've run into so far has had an issue with me being here." She looked a bit hurt at my assumption. "Well stop being scared, because some of us are really looking to progress and improve our relations with Octarians, you know." She spat. I knew everyone here hated me, whether I did something to them or not. This one was my fault. She started tearing up after she released her anger. "Look. I shouldn't have been so one-minded about Inklings, especially you, but just trust me, I'm not as bad as others make me out to be." I said. No reply. As I knew she would. "I trust you, but just be more understanding of what you're kind did to us." She said. "I will." Is all I said before we both knew things were fine. "So... about that turf war you offered." She joked. "I know, I know." I said.

We finished our walk to the arena. "How're you gonna participate in the turf war? You have black ink," She asked. "And how do you even turn into a squid anyways?" We stopped walking for a moment. "Um... uh... how do I put this?" I stuttered. "I'm... uh... my mom... was an Inkling." I said after babbling like an idiot. "Oh," was all she could muster. "I guess that must've been really awkward with your parents and all," She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "Sorry if that's an emotional thing for you." She apologized. "No, it's fine. Just kind of not a thing I talk about much. Something that made some fuckin' bastards mess with me back in primary and secondary school." I admit. "Primary and secondary school?" She asked. "Oh! It's the same as your schooling, but elementary and middle school are called "primary", while high school is "secondary" school." I told her. "But you were fucked with in school?" She asked. "Yeah. Also a thing that doesn't come up in conversations much shockingly. But it's was nothing much. It was opposite from here and how Inklings aren't very fond of Octarians. We are very passionate about our anger with Inklings." I answered. "So are you one of the angry Octarians, or no?" She asked. "I'm fucking half-Inkling! I can't be angry or upset at either side!" I said a bit angrier than what else had been said. "Oh, sorry. Didn't know you were that passionate about both races." She apologized. "Well, I'm normally not. But it's just been a really long day for me, okay." I said. "Do you still wanna do a turf war?" She offered. "I can't now." I replied. "And why's that?" She mocked. "Because a certain someone has reminded me that I can't join a team." I said sarcastically. "Oh yeah, forgot about that," She replied. "So now what?" Callie will give me shit later for this idea. "You wanna head back to my place?" I asked, hoping it didn't come off as weird as it sounded. "That's not something you hear from a stranger, but sure." She answered.

I walked her all the way back to HQ, which confused her a little. "Why are we here?" She asked. "This is where I hang out for most of the day." I answered. "How? This is the Squid Sisters' studio!" She exclaimed. "The Squid Sisters brought me here after finding me in Octo Valley. Now I hang out here with 'em." I replied. "But where do you live?" She asked. "I live with the Sisters as well. I work for them in a sense. I do the online portion of the work, not PA, but something like that." I answered. "Sounds fun, wish I did something like that." She responded. "What do you do for work?" I asked. "Just do turf wars for fun, it pays fine and it's fun, but I mean, it isn't a full-time job." She answered. "Look, I can try and get you an interview, but I make no guarantees." I offered. "I like this offer. I've been looking for a job for quite a while now." She accepted. "Yeah, but it's pretty fun around here. We aren't very professional most of the time surprisingly." I admit. "That's good though. If it were too formal would you still work for them?" She asked. I actually thought hard about this, as it is something I wouldn't want. "I wouldn't do as much work or be as ambitious as I've been. So, yeah. I guess it is good that we aren't very formal around here." I replied.

* * *

It was almost ten when Callie and Marie got back. Me and my new friend had been talking about oddly serious topics for some reason, such as work, politics, and relationships. It was weird, but it felt like I'd known them for my entire life. "Jack! We're back!" Callie yelled into the headquarters. They entered the main area and froze. "What the hell? We told you not to bring anyone who didn't work here into HQ!" Callie yelled. "Why don't you listen sometimes?" She asked. "Because I need to find new friends that aren't in the office all the time." I answered. "At least ask us before you bring someone here. This is like a second home for us and you know it is for everyone else too." Callie said, continuing her lecture. "I know it is, but you weren't around and the city was too enticing for me not to go out. I just happened to meet someone and bring them back," I said sarcastically. "Plus, I wanted someone new to join the crew." Callie had face-palmed so hard that it probably could be heard throughout the rest of the empty HQ. "If you wanted someone to join you and your crew, you could've told us you were looking for new members to bring on board." She said irritably. "Well, I found someone who was willing to join." I said, pointing to the person behind me. "Ugh, fine. But I'm only doing it this once, okay?" She said, slowly getting more and more sick of my shit. "Thanks! She seems like a cool addition, I think she'll fit right in." I told Callie. Marie had left already, probably preparing to go home. "Just, can we do this tomorrow? Marie is going to whine like crazy if we don't leave soon." She begged. I don't blame her either, Marie is insufferable when she gets tired. "That's fine, as long as I don't have to hear Marie bitch about not being home and asleep yet." I agreed.

I made sure to escort her out the building, as I had brought her here in the first place. "Wait," I said, causing her to stop. "I never got your name." I said. "It's Navi. I'm gonna guess yours is Jack." She replied with a small giggle. "Yeah, it is. So, I'll see you tomorrow, right?" I asked before she left. "Yeah. Hopefully I land the job." She said. "I'm sure you'll do fine." I responded before parting ways with her. I got into the car with Callie and Marie. "So, who was that?" Marie asked. "That was Navi, just met her today." I answered. "Why'd you bring her to HQ, dickhead?" Marie mocked. "Well, no real reason, just cause I got bored of standing in public and wanted to head back." I replied. "You still shouldn't have done that, and you're lucky that I'm even allowing her to get an interview after what you did." Callie snapped. "Look, can we worry about this when it happens. Yell at me tomorrow, it's too late for this shit, okay?" I said, ending the conversation there.


	2. Chapter 2

It was already nine, which meant it was time to start heading to the office. Callie and Marie had left a while ago, since they usually got there before everyone else. Today was kind of a big deal, we had an audition for a new cast member. We haven't added people to the cast in three or four years, which was when Token and Steven joined. For most of the people in the office, this would be a normal day. But for us, someone new might be joining. I guess I was a little bit excited, because this would give a bit of a shake-up to things that we do.

After taking little to no time to get ready, I started the walk to work. It took only ten or so minutes, but it felt awful with the heat and humidity of the day. I was lightly sweating by the time I made it, and it didn't seem that the heat was letting up all day. And now that I was here, it's time to begin preparing.

Okay. Now, you may be wondering what I do for work. Well, I work with the Squid Sisters, obviously. I mean, they give me a place to stay and some money. But I run a YouTube channel of theirs, specifically the gaming one. I have no idea how I convinced them to start one, but they agreed to do it. It's been running for six years now, starting back in 2012. Since the start, we've had a main cast of me, Callie, and Marie, along with some friends of ours, Chen, Matt, and John. On the second anniversary of the channel, we had some more friends join us, the aforementioned Steven and Token. And about after four years of running and being involved with the channel, Callie and Marie distanced themselves from it to focus on things surrounding their music careers. So I've been handed down the majority control of the channel, which was called Squid Sisters Gaming (original as fuck, I know), for the past two years. I did a lot of the work for the channel before, such as some parts of production and having a large say in what shows were in the lineup at any moment, but now I officially had the title for it.

The group was pretty close when we started the channel, as we were friends before this whole thing even started. And we added more friends, which only made doing this more fun for us. Even after Callie and Marie left, the group was still fine and we all still talked often. As someone who does a lot of comment reading for the channel to find suggestions from fans, I'm surprised that we're still friends as people were pretty confused and/or pissed when the Squid Sisters left. But I guess they knew it was a quick reaction to something that needed to happen eventually. And they still come back every once in a while for some episodes.

"Yo! Jack!" Someone yelled from down the hall. From the voice I guessed it was Token. "Look who finally showed up!" He joked. "Go fuck yourself. And it's not like we started filming or anything, so I'm on time." I said. "Yeah, but everyone else is here already, so you're late. But come on, we gotta get ready to start." He said, dragging me down the hall with him. Bringing me into the main room, the whole cast was here. And of course they were playing Smash. It was our favorite party game and things got pretty intense between us.

So a bit about our group. First, Matt and John. They're both from the States, with Matt being from New York and John being from Colorado. Matt is 28, and John is 26. They came to Japan for abroad schooling, and then applied for citizenship after they got the job.

Chen. She's from South Korea, and is the only cast member to be from anywhere not named Japan or North America. She is pretty secretive and secluded, though she's comfortable around us. At 24, she's the youngest member of the crew. She hasn't moved to Japan, as she maintains residency in South Korea because she goes back often to stay with her family.

Next is Token. Shockingly, his name isn't actually Token, it's Jordan. He gets the name from television terms for the forced black character in a show. We didn't add him for diversity reasons, just he went by that name online as a joke of sorts. He already had a channel, much like everyone in our cast, where he went by Token, so he just kept the name to make the transition as smooth as possible. He moved to Japan when he turned 19, solely because he wanted to go somewhere new. He's from Utah, and is also 26.

Now onto Steven. Steven is from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. That being said, he came to Japan with his girlfriend when he was 20 and she was 21. He did some more years of school here before and during his time on the channel. He wants to get his doctorates and eventually go to medical school. He's now 30 and in med school.

I was pulled from my thoughts by a GameCube-styled controller being shoved in my face. "Oh. You guys must want to get destroyed." I taunted. "Sure, sure. Stop talking and start playing." John said. We always played in four-player mode, just to keep things moving. As always, I picked Jigglypuff, John went with Ike (fucker), Chen played Pichu, and Matt chose Toon Link. Unsurprisingly, Chen won. She was really good at the game, so beating us was a casual thing now. But it was always down to the wire. The Sing+Sleep combo was effective and I went for it enough that it landed consistently. The thing was that the combo was harder to land on Pichu than any other character due to its smaller hitbox, so Chen had that advantage.

"Another round, another embarrassing defeat to two of the worst characters for Matt." John mocked. "You lost as Ike, so don't even start." Matt shot back. They continued to take jabs at one another as we set up the next game. Token insisted that I play King K. Rool, so I did. I played him for fun, usually as a joke or to prove that heavy characters are a bit too good, but I knew how to play him. Chen tried the Ice Climbers for shits and giggles, as they were one of the worst in the game. Token played Ridley, as he usually did. And John played Yoshi, deciding it was time to switch. In a not so exciting fashion, John basically wasted all three of his stock trying to recover from jumping off the stage, not getting launched, but jumping off. Token spent the match using his Side+B because it was the most fun thing for him. It didn't work too well, as Chen would spam B to freeze him then launch him off the stage.

But the battle went on, with Token and Chen on their last stock, and me with all three. Some would call that game, but for anyone that knew Chen, it was never over. She was incredible at playing games, and is high tier in almost every game she plays. And this was no exception. I was expecting a comeback; she always knew what to do at the right time to win. But so did I. She would be playing close to the edges, trying to bait out a spike and dodge it, which would almost certainly kill me. With that in mind, I now have to set up a different combo to end it. Or I could just use a Smash Attack. Whichever came first, I guess.

We were at a stalemate, both of us just dodging, waiting for the other to attack. And it took a little bit, but we began to fight again. I had a new plan. Get close to the edge, jump, but don't leave the stage, and bait out a spike dodge. Once she dodges, hope I've landed by then and go for an Up Smash. If all goes according to plan, the match ends. It was a simple plan, but it was all I had at the time. After setting it up, and attempting to execute it, it actually landed. The screen zoomed in, had the red background and lightning and shit, and launched the Ice Climbers off screen. The group behind us were cheering as Chen and I shook hands. "So what are we filming today?" I asked. "It's Tuesday, so we have nothing to film, though we could start prepping videos if you want." Steven answered. "How many Smash videos have we done in this month?" I asked. "Three or four." He answered. "We're only two weeks in and we already have a good amount of Smash as our content. Great." I said. "Well, we do love playing this game." Steven shot back.

"Whatever. We could just not film." Matt interjected. "Fine. But we have to stockpile some stuff soon." I said. We had to leave for the States in about four days for PAX South, which starts on the 18th, and we need to be in town at least the day before. Most of the stuff released during the trip would be vlogs or stuff we film in Texas, but some stuff had to be prepped. "Should we troll and make all three prep releases Smash? I mean, easy for us to film, edit and the fans probably wouldn't mind too much either." Chen suggested. "Of course you're fine with it, you play it professionally." I joked. But we all agreed it would be worth it to just film Smash. We knew we had to switch it up a little though, or they'd get bored of the game.

And so we came up with an idea.

* * *

 **And we're done! I know this was kind of a cliffhanger, but I feel that it would get too long if I kept going. So next time you'll see the idea they have and maybe some of the PAX trip. I''m not sure how far I'll get. But thanks for sticking around and reading after the longs ass break I took.**

 **Read the other shit I write at:**

 **WP: wattpad,com/user/kymeechee**

 **FFN: fanfiction,net/~kymchee**

 **FP: fictionpress,com/~kymchee**

 **(Replace commas with periods)**


	3. This One's Long sorry :P

**And we're back bitches!**

* * *

"What's your great idea?" Token asked. "Okay. Token, you're playing online. Chen and I have gotten the office Switch to Elite Smash, so it would be funny to watch you play against top tier players." I said. "Why me? Why not Matt or John?" He asked. "Because you're the most casual player we have. Matt is just trash, John is a tryhard." I answered. "Ugh, fine." He surrendered. "Don't worry, Chen and I will also be playing online before you, so the rank will be even higher." I laughed. "Fuck you. I hate you so much." He spat out.

* * *

It was an hour later, and we were ready to start filming. Chen was first up. "So what is up guys? Today we are playing some more Smash Bros., but there's a little twist. We're going online today. So we've spent a good amount of our time since getting the game online and grinding up to Elite Smash, and we made it about two weeks ago. And now Chen is going online to smack some fools." I greeted. Token was sitting next to Chen, who was in the middle. "After Chen, I'll go, and then Token'll go." I said. Chen was focusing for the games she'll be playing. She was playing Ness. He was still fine, and most of the characters were viable online. She got matched-up against Meta Knight, who counters Ness. "Fuck." She whispered.

She was making mild commentary, trying to really win the match. She eventually managed to take a 2-1 stock lead in the game, but she was also at 200% at the moment. Her opponent was frantically going for Smash Attacks to even out the game, but they were playing sloppy, giving Chen the opportunity to lay on damage. Now it was 212% to 78%. She threw the Meta Knight off the right side of the stage. He attempted to recover, using three of his six jumps. Chen wanted a dodge bait, so she jumped as if she were going to Up Smash him. He used the dodge, letting her launch him off the stage for the win. Token and I clapped as the victory screen played. She wasn't celebrating, just fiddling with the controller.

"So, was that fun?" Token asked, not really sure how to react. "Yeah. But it's kinda stressful, even as one of the best in the world." She answered. We talked about something random as we loaded into another lobby. "Token, give me a character to play." She demanded. "Uh... Little Mac." He said. "Shit. Okay, here we go." She groaned. And Pichu was her opponent. So now it was one of the fastest characters in the game versus the worst aerial character. "I'm fucked. I'm fucked. There's no way to win this." She said. "Can you walk me through your match at least?" Token asked. "Fine." Chen spat, a bit irritated. She hated losing in games like this, stuff she was great at. She never said why, but we guess it's because she thinks it is all she has. "Mac has terrible air control, meaning any launch can kill me. Pichu's insane speed makes it hard for me to land hits as my attacks take a bit to land." She said, going silent for the rest of the game. And she lost, just as she said she would. It wasn't even close; she got 3-0'd.

That drained her, so we let me play some rounds. Some small talk and some matches later, I'd won two of three. Token wanted a swing at some games. All three of his matches were quick, with him only taking out one stock of the nine he went up against. After that, it seemed like enough for something. "And now we can confirm that Token is trash tier at this game," I joked. "But thanks for watching! And if you don't know by now. we're at PAX South and we have a panel! So if you're there, come find a seat and say hi." I finished.

Two more to film. Then we were done. Chen was done with everything for a while, so I sent Matt and John to film some Smash next. And we still needed a third prep, but we couldn't come up with any ideas. "Fuck this. Can we just not film and be done?" John whined. I knew that people wouldn't be happy with us missing an upload, but we honestly don't have any more energy to do shit. "That's fine with me. I got to go write some stuff, so I'll see you guys later." I said, leaving the room.

* * *

I needed to find somewhere private. I have to finish writing a set for a show I'm doing in Texas, and I got four more days to do it. Or... I could just wing it. I did it before and it was fine, so I guess it would work now. But I should write some more just in case. The minutes ticked by, turning into hours. Eventually, Marie had to come and get me before I went without sleep again.

"How long have you been in here?" She asked concerned. "Four, maybe five hours." I answered. "You are gonna fucking forget to do stuff without me around, you know that?" She spat. "Chill, I know what I'm doing." I said. "Sure, but when you forget to eat, sleep or drink for two and a half days, don't blame me." She was pissed. I don't know why, but I'd rather not know either.

It was dark out already, and a check of my phone showed that it indeed was well past eight. I was walking home already, but testing my luck and talking to Marie was seeming like an idea. Can't get kicked out of a car if you're not in one. "Hey, Marie!" I yelled. "What?" She asked sharply, turning on her heel to face me. "You okay? You're very pissy." I said. "It's been a long day. A few interviews, a live performance, job interviews. I just want to relax." She answered. "Then do that. We don't have too much to do for the next few days, then we go to the States. Take a break." I said. "Are you sure? I know you can hold down the fort, but there's still stuff I need to do around the office." She asked. "Just do it. We'll be fine." I comforted. "Okay then, I'll do it." She said, nodding.

* * *

It was noon of the next day. "Hey, you know where Chen and Matt are?" I asked. They hadn't shown up today, and I don't know if anyone has any idea where they are. "Matt said that they aren't coming in today, and they won't be coming with us to Texas." John answered. "Why?" I asked. "He said that something came up and they're going to Chen's home in South Korea for a while." That sucked, they were both such great personalities to have around and radiated excitement. Having them both out for at least a week would have visible affects on the crew. "But people will notice that they aren't with us, we can't just not address the issue." Token mentioned. "Matt said Chen wants confidentiality, meaning private location, anything that reveals what happened." John answered. "What even happened anyways?" Steven asked. "Chen's depression and anxiety has been acting up recently, so Matt thought it would be best to have her stay out of the public for a while. Both of them are going completely silent on social media too." John explained further.

"And then there's Navi. We'll have to do a lot of explaining at the panel." We have three days to produce a sufficient message explaining what's going on with the team. Honestly, I'm not sure if the fans will enjoy the surprise, but we don't have a choice.

* * *

 **Four days later**

It was the day of PAX, and the panel started at noon. "Thank you five!" A crew member yelled out. We gathered up, finishing up any prep we had left. The decision we made was to not address the absence of Chen and Matt unless we were asked about it during the Q&A. The announcement of a new member will probably go over terribly, but we don't have any other options. Apparently, five minutes had passed and now we were going on stage. The crowd was loud, and rather large. From eyeing it, there was around 1,000 people in the room. Settling into the plastic chairs we were given, the one and a half hour long panel began.

"Well, shit. Lot more people than last year." I said. The crowd exploded at that for some reason. "So, before we start the Q&A, we have a big announcement. There's a new member of our crew!" I announced. The crowd re-exploded. "Navi, stand and introduce yourself." She rose up, rubbing down her skirt. "I'm Navi. I don't really know what to say right now, so... yeah." She said, sitting down again. "There aren't any more reveals or surprises, so let's get this going. Who's up first?" I asked. A girl was at the mic, she looked at least 15. "What was the idea behind adding another cast member?" They asked. "I don't know. My best answer would be that something needed to change, and a new member came from that need. I am always afraid of the channel feeling stale, and I think it has felt a bit off for the past few months with the jokes becoming a little older. I'm not saying that the channel would have died had this change not been made, but it is a very welcome change." I answered.

The questions continued for a good fifteen minutes, then the big one came. "I think a lot of us are wondering this. Where are Chen and Matt?" They asked. We all looked at one another, not really wanting to say it. "Um... fuck." Token said. "Okay. This is what we feared. So, Chen and Matt did not come with us to Texas. [Is that too much information? No? Cool.] That's all we're allowed to say as they asked to not have any information revealed." I said. **(A/N: Bracketed text is in a foreign language.)**

More questions came and went. There was a fun one that came up. "Do you guys speak any other languages?" Someone asked. We had some fun with this, by starting a conversation that spanned multiple languages. "[Do we speak another language?]" Token asked in Japanese. "[Can't quite tell. Do we?]" Steven asked in Japanese as well. "[Guess we'll never know. But if you get this, you're loved very much.]" I said in Korean. "[That is true, and even those who don't know what this means are loved too.]" Steven said in Latin. "[Drop the Latin, Professor Shithead.]" John joked in Spanish. "[If this is what the fans are getting, then I think they'll love this gag.]" Navi laughed out in Chinese. "I think the answer is a solid no. Not a single one of us, including Matt, Chen, Marie, and Callie. None of us know anything except English." I answered stupidly.

This question never really got asked to us before. In seriousness, we have a tendency to slip in and out of language during conversations. We always spoke English in the videos, with some other languages sometimes thrown in. We could start a conversation in Spanish and we'll wind up all the way at Chinese somehow. It wasn't something we always intended to do, but it was interesting to see us talk. "Should we just forget language and do that for the next hour? [Talk in whatever language we please?]" I joked in French. Yeah, we all knew a handful of languages, and understood plenty of others without speaking a sentence of it. That's how some of these worked. Callie can't speak anything other than English and Japanese for shit, but she knows what we're saying in other languages. It's weird, but it was how we worked.

"What is your favorite game that you guys have played on the channel before?" Another question asked.

"That's what, six years? Yeah. Six years of videos to look back on. But mine has to be every Cards Against Octolings, or Inklings, whichever pleases you. I love how oblivious Chen is to western slang, setting up some amazing jokes and surprises throughout the series." I answered.

"Favorite? [Damn. (Japanese)] The word brings memories of the one time we played League on the channel, which some of us love playing by the way. Has to be. The outplay Chen pulled on Morgana was insane. Not only got the 2v1, killed Jack on the Orianna, then baited out my charge with Sion and hit the ignite while running from it. Fucking incredible. That's when I learned to never fuck with Chen in League again." Token answered.

"Clue. Easily. Matt plays so stupidly it hurts. _Prime suspect. Assumed weapon._ Yeah, I love Matt for these small things." John answered.

"April Fools 2016. The whole episode was dubbed over with a text-to-speech bot. The language changed so often, you couldn't even keep track of it. Legendary episode." Steven said. "Shit. I forgot we did that!" Callie responded.

"Mine has to be the episode of Cards Against Inklings where John just had to make every card played relate to a dick joke. It was absurd some stretches he made." Callie said.

"The time where Jack referenced almost every line in Hamilton over the span of like, thirty or something episodes." Marie said. Marie really enjoyed music, so she got a kick when I said the lines to every Hamilton song for a month or something straight.

The memories always came back during these panels, solely because fans brought up some of the best bits. "Jack, favorite Epic Rap Battles?" Another person asked. "Thought no one would ask." I responded. It became a trend that I shared my favorite ERBs from throughout the year. Though they didn't release anything last year, a comeback was happening later this spring and I listen to them often. "Let me think. Thor vs. Zeus, always a personal favorite. Napoleon vs. Napoleon recently became one of them. I just now started to appreciate each part of that battle. Ivan the Terrible vs. Alexander the Great. Awesome opening verse that manages to get topped three times over throughout the battle. Rick Grimes vs. Walter White, pizza on the roof jokes never get old. And Walter White's first verse is fucking nuts. I think those are it for this year." I answered.

"We have time for one more question here, then we need to wrap it up." I announced. "Best and worst memes from throughout the year?" They asked. "Now that's a question I love," I said. "Let's see, bongo cat. Legendary meme. Déjà Vu and Running in the 90s have been great for years, and it showed this year. The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Far superior to To Be Continued. Any other ones guys?" I asked. "Hmm... cursed images, specifically the Wii Boxing one. Love that. Wii memes in general were great this year. Manga, anime, Netflix adaptation was another one. Old Town Road." Token said. He didn't even finish the last word, but the crowd loved it, cheering louder than they had the whole panel. "Damn, you guys love that one." He said.

"And there's the time we have! An hour and a half. Didn't even feel like it, but it was that long. I don't know if there's anything left for us to say besides thank you for coming out and [get the fuck out of my kitchen. (Korean)]" I joked.

We had cancelled the meet and greet session the day we heard Chen and Matt weren't coming. There was a place to leave gifts for each YouTuber that went, but they could also set up a meet and greet and receive them personally. We agreed that it would be weird to accept Chen and Matt's gifts for them, as fans clearly made or bought them expecting one of them to get it and hold a quick conversation before being ushered out. It sucked that everyone was rushed out of there as soon as possible to get everyone through within the time limit. There was no time to even appreciate the things you get during it because you gotta get to the next one.

But things had to happen to make sure each person made it through that could. I wish it could be different, but there are so many entertainers that needed the space at these events.

After walking around the event for a while, we took a break. "Fuck. It's been a long day." Token breathed out. "Yeah. And it's only 3." I followed up. "We have another panel!" Marie groaned. _Damn, they right._ Callie and Marie always had a separate panel from the rest of us. I mean, they're international superstars. Occasionally, we'd go with them to do these things. "Anyone you gonna drag there?" I asked jokingly. "Fuck you. But not this time. We brought some of you last year, so this panel has to feel a bit more personal than the Squid Sisters and their friends." Callie answered. "Ugh, fine."

We continued some random conversation throughout the rest of our time sitting down. "Remember when Jack just launched up during the panel and screamed 'is there any Hamil-trash in the room!'? The fact that so many people reacted is the best part." Token reminisced. That was something I did back in 2015. It was a big part of me falling in love with performing. Since that point, I've done multiple musicals with some theatre groups. Most of it consists of Lin-Manuel Miranda's work, but I love doing his plays. While doing his parts required me to doing some dying (of my tentacles), it was well worth it. I need to find another one soon.

"Jack! What's going on up there?" Token yelled, knocking on my head for emphasis. "Thinking." I responded sarcastically. "No shit." He laughed. "For real though, I think I'm going to take a break from YouTube." I said. "You're kidding, right?" He asked, shocked. "No. I want to do another show, and most of them run for two weeks not including rehearsals." I answered. "Damn man." Is all he mustered to say. "It's something I like doing, so I'll go find somewhere to." I said.


End file.
